A Colorado dentist poisoned his wife’s protein shakes and wore scrubs to sneak into her hospital room and administer a fatal dose of cyanide, prosecutors said at his murder trial on Tuesday.
The father-of-six, James Craig, is accused of using lethal concoctions including tetrahydrozoline, an ingredient used in eye drops, to murder his wife of 23 years, Angela Craig.
James, 47, was having an affair and allegedly poisoned Angela while waiting for his mistress to visit.
Prosecutors said he swapped her medication with the poison in a calculated effort to free himself from a marriage in which he described feeling ‘trapped,’ ‘hopeless’ and ‘helpless.’
The jury also heard that James tricked a relative into giving his wife a prescription he said the hospital ordered. However, he swapped out the pills and lied about the prescription.
Angela, 43, suffered mysterious symptoms – lethargy, dizziness, vomiting – beginning on March 6, 2023. She died on March 18. James was arrested the following day and has been in jail since.
He was tearful when his defense attorney mentioned his family’s trips to Disneyland and Angela calling him a ‘doting’ husband.
He pleaded not guilty to several charges, including first-degree murder, two counts of solicitation to commit perjury and solicitation to commit murder.
James Craig is seen wiping his tears while on trial for murdering his wife, Angela Craig
James, 47, was having an affair and allegedly poisoned Angela while waiting for his mistress to visit
Appearing in court neatly-shaven and in a charcoal suit, James looked markedly different from earlier hearings where he wore an orange prison uniform and had unkempt hair.
He watched silently as some of his children and other relatives filed into the courtroom, at times dabbing his eyes as prosecutors described his wife’s slow death.
Assistant District Attorney Ryan Brackley told jurors James poisoned Angela using arsenic, tetrahydrozoline and cyanide.
He claimed James entered her hospital room alone – not to help her recover but to ‘deliberately and intentionally end her life.’
Prosecutors outlined his alleged motives: financial troubles and a string of extramarital affairs.
He and Angela had filed for bankruptcy in 2021, and James was active on ‘sugar daddy’ websites, where he falsely claimed to be worth $10 million.
Four women – including a Texas orthodontist he met at a Las Vegas dental conference weeks before Angela became ill – are expected to testify.
Text messages between James and his mistress Karin Cain shown to the court revealed more than 4,000 exchanges, 80 declarations of love and even a song he allegedly wrote for her.
James Craig was in tears as prosecutors in his murder trial said he poisoned his wife’s protein shakes while he was having an affair because he wanted to escape
Angela Craig, 47, died on March 18, 2023, after suffering mysterious symptoms for two weeks, which prosecutors say were caused by her husband
James Craig, 47, was allegedly having an affair and is said to have administered a dose of poison while awaiting a visit from his mistress
Prosecutors said Craig swapped his wife’s medication with poison in a calculated effort to free himself from a marriage in which he described feeling ‘trapped,’ ‘hopeless’ and ‘helpless’
Prosecutors say James lied to Cain, claiming he was already divorced and living alone.
Suspicion mounted when a dental practice employee discovered cyanide in a package addressed to James and alerted his business partner.
The defense, however, painted a different picture. They described Angela as a ‘broken’ woman struggling with isolation and mental illness and said the couple’s marriage had been ‘broken for years.’ They admitted James had multiple affairs but argued this was not motive for murder.
‘Dr. Craig wasn’t a good husband. You may not like him,’ defense attorney Ashley Whitham told jurors. ‘But this case isn’t about whether he’s likable or moral. It’s about whether the prosecution can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he murdered his wife.’
They also urged jurors to be skeptical of testimony from jailhouse informants, calling them ‘snitches’ with motives of their own.
‘This is a tragedy. Six children lost their mother, and Dr. Craig lost his wife of 23 years,’ the defense said. ‘But sympathy cannot be part of your verdict.’
After opening arguments, the prosecution called to the stand several nurses and doctors who’d treated Angela at Parker Adventist in March 2023. They testified that she exhibited no signs of wanting to die, self-harm or take her life.
Cardiologist Dr Arthur Levene, telling jurors he ‘had no idea’ what was causing Angela’s symptoms but was confident it wasn’t her heart, said he remembered her for several reasons.
‘She was very concerned about her symptoms, and she was very pleasant, and the only thing I remember very much: She said she wanted to get better to get home to her six kids.’
